From the Undying Lands
by CiprianaFrolay
Summary: Thalia and Adora are from across the sea not Valanor...just read it works. They came to land on ME after their ship wrecked off the coast Gondor. Captured by a band of Haradrim the two girls attempt escape and find themselves alone in a land of many stran
1. Prologue

OFFICIAL DISCLAIMER: We don't own LOTR or anything related. Thalia and Adora are from our imagination...so I don't think we own them either.

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Part One: Beginning

STORY SUMMERY: Thalia and Adora are from across the sea. They came to land on Middle Earth after their ship wrecked off the coast Gondor. Captured by a band of Haradrim the two girls attempt escape and find themselves alone in a land of many strange mysteries, adventures, friends and enemies.

* * *

**Prologue**

Silver-blue eyes blinked and cracked and bloodied lips parted in a gasp as pain filled the battered evlen body. Haldir of Lothlórien lay on his back on the cold stone wall of Helm's Deep underneath him. The memory of what had brought him to this unfortunate stay quickly rushed past the pain and caused several elvish curse words to pass his lips. The pain that filled his body was a grateful sign that the Uruk-Hai's blow had not severed his spinal cord, and the Elven Healing trance had taken him, quickly healing any bones that might have been severely injured. His healing was far from over and his mind was left in a disoriented state.

The sound of battle met his ears and the rumbling on the stone told of thousands of pounding feet. His upper body, badly injured, could not support his weight so he stumbled, hunched over, into a small nick in the wall. Pain caused his vision to blur and spots of bright light to appear. Safely away from the enemy, Haldir leaned against the wall and then slowly slid down as his consciousness seeped away and darkness became his friend

Haldir woke as pain flared again in his back. Gentle hands moved him onto his stomach. The hands quickly removed his armor, he moved to protest causing pain again in his back.

"Hold still." A female voice said sternly.

He stilled. Her fingers ran the coarse of his spin and he felt the muscles in his back relax.

"Nearly hit the spinal cord and almost shattered his shoulder blade. He should have died." she murmured.

"The elvish powers no doubt kept him alive this long." a deeper male voice said.

Haldir wanted to see the faces of these people, but he kept still. Then, to his surprise, he felt the torn muscles and bones begin to mend and come together almost painfully fast. The prickling warmth of magic spread throughout the rest of his body, closing the rest of his wounds.

"There." she said softly, and helped him turn back around.

Sparkling brown eyes smiled down at him from a round face framed by wisps of deep brown hair that fell from a braid. She was human.

"You're human." He said in both awe and surprise.

He had never met a human that possessed the healing powers of the elven.

"And what else would I be?" she said in an accent he didn't recognize.

Another human moved into view. He had the height of an elf, but again was obviously human. He had dirty blonde hair and surprisingly green eyes. He was carrying the reins of three Lothlórien horses.

"Calla, we need to find a place...more suitable." He said gently.

Haldir couldn't help but notice the love by the two humans.

"Of course." the women said.

The man reached down and with the help of Calla pulled Haldir to his feet.

"Thank you." he said staring at Calla.

She smiled, " We are only repaying a debt to your lady."

The amount of strength in his muscles surprised him and he looked again at Calla.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Traveling strangers." she answered, "Now take a horse and ride back to Lothlórien. Calla has previsions and blankets. There is a sword as well in case you meet with opposition. But go now and go quickly."

"But what of the Fellowship?" he said.

"That adventure is almost through, Haldir. Go home and rest." the man advised.

Haldir took a horse and galloped away. These people knew of Lothlórien, they knew his name. He knew that if he wanted any answers to this mystery he would have to ask the Lady herself.


	2. Chapter One

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Chapter One

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"I'm not sure where to start." Adora said.

"Why don't you start from the beginning?" Pippin said.

"That would be...three years ago wouldn't it?" Thalia asked.

"We can start there."

~ Adora's P.O.V. ~

I stood before the ship Ëardraug, my breath taken away by the magnificence of it. Ëardraug is my gateway to the unknown lands and the final break from my clan.

I am five feet eleven inches, with wheat blond hair hanging down my back in a braid. My brown eyes watched the coming and going of the people on the ship, all waiting for a sign from Hagoth, the captain and my brother-in-law. That day I wore a died blue deer skin shirt with a woven wool wrap around it. Men's leggings I "borrowed" from my older brother and buffalo skin tied up to my knees as shoes.

"Adora!" A familiar voice called.

I turned around to see Hagoth making his way from a makeshift inn. He isn't much to look at--the sea had made him strong but had hardened his features, yet his warm brown eyes told of his gentile and curious nature.

Once he reached me he wrapped me in a hug. "It's good to see you again." He said smiling.

"Good to see you too." She said back.

"Come its almost time to leave, we must finish making preparations."

I grinned and shifted the straps of my bag before following Hagoth onto the Ëardraug.

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~ Thalia ~

I griped the rope very tightly.

"Come on Thal, get the rope tight before you send us all into the abyss!"

"Thanks for the encouragement Gid!" I retorted sourly while tying the rope to a peg. The ship pitched violently sending me skidding across the deck.

The rain poured down violently onto my already soaked body. To my eternal frustration I stand barely five feet tall. Though my small frame is noting to laugh about I can, and have beaten every boy in my tribe and many men without.

I had short chocolate brown hair, cut hastily from a long braid before leaving my home. Most people did a double take when they saw me, through short hair, my features were very pretty, I'm told. I had the dark green eyes common in my tribe, but are rare among other. My skin, once creamy from the sheltered _Covanaia_, was now a tan brown from the unsheltered travel of the past months.

My tribe, like many, was at war and with nothing but my strict traditional mother to hold me back, I packed the few thing that belonged to me and headed for the only way off the dreaded continent, Ëardraug.

Once on the ship, I wondered if I simply found a way to kill myself all the more faster.

With a grunt I heaved myself up on the rocking ship and managed to find myself yet again on my back, but this time with someone on top of me.

"Oh! So sorry!" Came a voice.

"I'll forgive you if you would please get off me!"

The girl gasped and quickly stood up. "You're a girl!"

I stood up as well. "And so are you." I said dryly.

The girl before me smiled despite my tone. "Here I was beginning to think I was the only one."

I smiled with a hint of sarcasm. "Yes, well, I believe I'm needed. Lovely to chat with you."

I quickly make my way across the deck.

Believe it or not, that was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.


	3. Chapter Two

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Chapter Two

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~ Adora ~~ 13 months later ~

I quickly made my way from the ship. Thalia would meet up with me later, but I wanted to move among the people now.

Each tribe of the Nacirema content had a special gift and I had been making a record of the tribes on the journeys.

Hagoth loved exploring both land and sea and in the year Thalia and I had traveled with him I had picked up seven languages of ten tribes or clans we had come upon.

I sighed, but after this we would be heading back to where we started and I could only imagine the state my can was in, for the war had not ended yet, and many had died.

I heard the quick pat, pat of feet behind me and turned to see Thalia running to meet me.

She looked excited about something and was holding two funny looking objects.

She was grinning like a child who had snatched an ashcake without getting caught.

"What is it you have there?" I asked.

She handed me one of the objects. It looked like a pack with two straps to go around both shoulders. It was about the size of a large child's back with two adjustable straps on top for a weapon. It had two pockets on the side, then a flap that opened into where larger objects could fit. It was made of a soft material died to a dark green.

"Thalia, what on Nacirema do we need there for? They don't look like they would carry more than a week's worth of provisions.

Thalia grinned, "That's the neat part of it. These will hold more than that, much more."

I looked from my friend to the pack in my hand that felt like it couldn't hold more than a body's belt without tarring.

"Trust me." She said slipping the one she held onto her back. "I'll show you tonight. Lets go find a place to sleep tonight instead of the boat."

I copied her by slipping the pack onto my back then followed her.

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~ Thalia ~

Now, Nacirema isn't the most advanced place on the face of this planet. Our people are just in the beginning stages of development. Some tribes have began to farm and store, others live near the sea and fish and trade. Others believe in the old ways and continue to be ever wandering, following the herds.

Adora and I were born into those tribes. Adora belonged to the arrow hunters, who made arrows and bows of the finest wood and toughest medal, known as the Rorreds. My tribe was the Eidem, gathers mostly. We were known for the fine texture of our clothing and our ability to communicate with nature.

The tribes or clans along the coasts have built buildings for both business and residential purposes. There aren't many clans since most are families brought together by a common goal or interest, but the wealthiest one was the one Hagoth belonged to. They were in both exploring and trading, not to mention shipbuilding.

For the most part we all live in peace, unless something happens that gets one of the tribes mad at another, then war breaks out. All was peaceful until a few years ago when my aunt and Adora's uncle ran off together. Our tribes blamed the other for what happened and that's what started the war.

Pitiful I know, but my aunt had a rare gift among all the people, she could heal wounds within seconds with just a touch of her hands. But it wasn't just her; Adora's uncle could wield the elements at whim--something amazing that hadn't been seen before. Then when the tribes lost their main source of trade they blamed the closest thing--the tribe of the other.

Pride and greed controlled the tribes and they've quickly begun to drag other tribes into the conflict.

That's why Adora and I sought escape. That's why we ended up on the ship Tarunania under Captain Windrunner.

He certainly wasn't a likable person. He sent Adora and I down below as the crew cooks. Not that bad of a job, but after a month I wanted to work up on deck.

After six months of traveling Adora was called to take over in the cow's nest. Johneton had come down with a fever, as most of the crew had, and I was called to nurse the sick. Being only five-foot made me a useless sailor in Captain Windrunner's view.

But in less than an hour of the change of jobs I heard Adora call out: "Land Ho!"

Among the sick I heard a lot of thank to many different goods of worship. But what concerned me was when all was silent again. I could hear a subtle scraping on the wood. Without much thought I ran on deck towards the west side of the ship.

Somewhere a fog had risen up clouding the water, but a large visible form off in the distance told of land. I scanned the water for signs of sea animals but saw nothing. Then a wave crashed against the rocks.

I stared at the rock dumbly for a few moments, with a jolt I realized what was going to happen.

I quickly ran over to where Captain Windrunner was.

"Captain Windrunner!" I called as I got near. "Captain Windrunner!"

He then realized who was yelling and tried to slip off.

I caught up with him and grabbed his arm. "Captain Windrunner!"

"What is it girl?" He asked sourly, pulling his arm from my grasp and folding it and the other across his chest.

"Captain, I don't think this is the safest way to get to land." I said glancing at the edge of the ship.

"Why?"

"Because there are rocks in the water and I don't think we're going to make it through. Down in the Healing Chambers I could hear them scraping the side, them when I ran up onto deck I saw them jutting our of the water."

"Well, maybe you're just imagining things." He said ignoring my cry of protest. "After all you have been attending the sick."

"For one hour!"

"You know how quickly that illness can spread, girl."

I scowled and wondered vaguely in my mind whether or not he even knew my name.

Just then an enormous shudder ran through the hull of the ship knocking everyone off his or her feet. My head hit the deck and I knew no more.

~Adora~

I woke to the sound of water lapping against land and a raging headache. I rolled over onto my back and my muscles screamed in protest. My mouth felt dry as if I had eaten a crop of cotton. I heard a groan beside me and I chanced to open my eyes.

I was greeted to dark rain clouds looming threatening over head. I could hear the thunder in the distance threatening to rain on us. The wind blew around us a cool breeze bringing the smell of wet earth. I looked over to my right and saw Thalia She lay on her stomach her face turned towards me, caked in dried blood and sand.

"Thalia!" I cried sitting up and then gasped in pain as my muscles and head screamed from the sudden movement. The memory of last night came rushing back and I gasped again. Thalia had been the first tossed from the ship. I crawled to her side and gently trolled her onto her back. She gave a moan of protest, but eyelids fluttered open revealing her familiar forest green eyes.

"I feel like I've been trampled by a herd of oxen." She said hoarsely, then groaned, "several times."

I couldn't help it, I laughed, even in her state she could make a joke. I helped her sit up, then we both stood up.

"Ugh, I'm a mess." She complained brushing off the sand.

I laughed. "We'll need to find a clean stream. I don't think that salt water will help us any. We need to have a look at your head also."

She touched her forehead and crinkled her nose making her look even more like a child than she already did. "No wonder my head is pounding. I must have hit my head on one of those rocks that idiot captain wouldn't listen to me about."

I smiled a little. Thalia might have been twenty winters old, but sometimes she didn't act it.

"Stop it." She said glaring at me.

I laughed. "I wasn't doing anything."

"Yes, you were. You where thinking how childish I am."

I laughed again. "You know to much for your own good."

She made a humph noise then looked around. She bit her lip in thought and took a look around as well. Hilly plains surrounded us with bolderish rocks scattered everywhere, and small clumps of trees scattered around. The wind was beginning to pick up and the smell of rain was becoming more distinct.

"It's going to rain." She said voicing the obvious. "We should find shelter. We don't really know how bad the storms are here."

I glanced up and down the beach and was grateful to see the dark blue and light green of our packs not far down.

"Thalia, look." I said pointing to them.

She grinned up at me. "See I told you they were worth the money I spent on them."

We hurried over to them each grabbing the one that was ours. They were still damp, but when we opened them everything in them was dry and still there.

"A very good investment." I said agreeing with her comment.

She smiled. "Finally, something I've done right."

I nodded and we both turned to face the plains ahead of us.

Thalia didn't move. "Adora, we're somewhere I've never seen on a map. We don't know what kind of people or animals live here. We don't know their languages. We're in a lot of trouble."

The heavens opened up and rain poured down on us. The rain poured heard enough that it was washed away most of the sand and dirt from our bodies, but it didn't make finding shelter any easier. We were able to find a group of rocks that formed a shelter from the pounding rain and also that sheltered a small spring.

Once we were clean we took a better look at our supplies. My pack was mostly weapons and blankets. Thalia's bag carried a weeks worth of dried meat and fruits and several bags of biscuits and six water skins.

"If we don't find a village or some form of civilization within a week we'll have to hunt." I said aloud.

Thalia nodded in agreement, then yawned. "Right now I think we should rest." Then looking outside she added: "there isn't much to do than that."


	4. Chapter Three

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Chapter Three

~Thalia~

The next morning we woke to stifling hot heat. All signs of yesterday's rain was gone but the small trickle of water continued in our shelter. Knowing the sun would burn we decided to begin when the heat cooled and continue our journey through the night.

We filled all our water skins with as much water as they would hold from the trickle of a stream. When the sun began to descend we left our makeshift shelter and began our long trek across the desert. 

* * *

Every night we walked and when the sky lightened we searched for a shelter. The desert gave way to grass and then too dense woods and we began to travel again in the daytime. 

~ Adora ~

Our previsions had been reduced to two lumps of stale bread and a handful of dried fruit when we stumbled upon a river. We had forgone any hunting, neither of us had the energy to hunt and track an animal, and because our water had depleted to only one bag each we didn't want to stop. 

At the sound of water I felt my knees go weak in relief, we could now get a decent rest.

After filling our water skins we rested in the shade eating the rest of our previsions. Thalia fell asleep soon after, but even being exhausted from the travel could not shake the sense uneasiness that filled the air. 

The trees sung softly with the wind and the desire to sleep came upon me. Instead I stood up and grabbed my bow. Thalia will be hungry, I thought to myself as I headed into the trees. But really I knew something was coming and I could only wish that I could understand the words of the wind.

~ Thalia ~

The snap of a twig brought me quickly form my sleep. My hand reached form my dagger but found nothing. Laughter filled the air and I quickly sat up. Fear coursed through my veins, seven tall men surrounded me. At five foot nothing everyone was tall, but these men were huge. The man (obviously the leader) that stood in front of me kicked at my feet and said something I didn't understand, but motioned with his hands that I should stand up. With the glimpse at the long swords that each man held I stood up. 

I may act childish at times, but I wasn't stupid. These men could rip me apart without breaking a sweat. 

They all wore identical outfits and aside from the leader. I could tell what any of them looked like. They wore loose black outfits their leggings tucked into boots made of nothing I'd ever seen. They wore deep green headdresses clasped to their heads with a golden band and cloth that covered there faces showing only their eyes. Only the leader let the extra cloth hand around his neck. 

He looked like no one I'd ever seen before. His face was well shaped with a strong jaw and a long strait nose and his eyes were a cold icy blue. I shivered and felt my gut twist. Something told me he had killed many people and hadn't felt any remorse and maybe even enjoyed it. Then he began to speak. 

I blink in surprise at the string of words left his mouth and a language I didn't understand. My face must have portrayed my confusion for his dialect changed yet his face portrayed his amusement. 

When I didn't respond he changed again, and again, and again. His expression quickly changed from amusement to annoyance, and I quickly became annoyed.

"Obviously, I don't understand anything your saying. Why don't you go away?" I bit out crossly.

Surprise and confusion glittered in all of the men's eyes. A man stepped forward and spoke to the leader and the leader nodded the turned make to me.

The glint in his eye did nothing to easy my nervousness and I unconsciously took a step back.

And then he spoke again, " My, my, my seems you aren't what I thought. Tell me, little girl how are you managed to find yourself so far from anything."

I gritted my teeth and refrained from answering.

"I know you can understand me. Do not ignore me. Who are you?" he growled.

~Adora~

I froze at the sound of voices. I wasn't sure what was going on but I couldn't hear Thalia. I moved slowly towards the river where I left Thalia. I stood behind a cluster of berry bushes and watched. 

Thalia's fist was clinched so tight her knuckles were turning white. She was barely holding her temper in check. Then one man spoke and she lost it.

"Don't mess with me child." He warned.

In the blink of an eye she had a dagger in her hand and cut towards the man. The dagger was poorly aimed and barely scratched the man on his cheek. Six men moved forward. Their leader grabbed Thalia's wrist and twisted it until she was forced to drop the dagger. He pulled her closer to him and began speaking to her in a low tone. Her expression changed to pain and terror, then anger. She said something else to him, which made him laugh and the anger on her face deepened. 

I stepped back trying to think of away to save her when my foot contacted with a stick and snapped it in half. Within seconds two men burst through the bushes. They both looked surprised. One ripped my bow from my hand and the other grabbed me and forced me towards their leader. 

~Thalia~

I looked towards the men as they came back. My fear was right. The sound had been Adora. 

The side of my captor's face bleed very little where my badly aimed dagger had nicked him. He griped my writs painfully in one hand and held my dagger in his other. The glare he was giving me made me almost wish I could hide, but I was too angry to be sufficiently frightened. 

He turned towards Adora twisting my bruised wrist even more.

He spoke again in his language and I groaned as Adora answered back..

He laughed. I began to feel weak. The old head wound began to bleed and my head began to pound as the world began to spin. He threw me towards one of his men and barked a command. Things began to move faster and darken and my knees gave way. The only thing holding me up was the man behind me. My captor's face swam before me. Frowning he reached out and moved my shirt of one of my shoulders. He muttered something I didn't understand and then gave the other a command. Then things went completely black.


	5. Chapter Four

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Chapter Four

~Thalia~

I woke to a steady pounding in my head with turned to a dull thud as I opened my eyes. The sun filtered lightly through the canopy of material above me and I could see a light blue sky above me. 

Biting my lip I rolled over and pulled myself onto my hands and knees. My arms and legs shook weakly at the weight I put on them and I almost fell back onto the blankest of fur. My eyes widened as I looked at my arms. Slim gold rings hung around my wrists and a gold chain connected on to a gold ring on my right ring finger. The ring was pretty the band looked like a spiders web with tiny diamonds woven in. My arms went weak again and I almost let myself fall. A slave bracelet. I'd seen them on every slave of a high family. They were impossible to get off without a key. I looked up and around. I was surrounded by pillows and furs and a small solid wall. One the four corners polls wrapped in gold rope reached up and help the material up and enclosed me in it. I moved to the wall closest to me and pushed back the curtain. I let out a scream and leaped away as best I could on my knees. I buried my head in my arms and held back another scream.

I was above the trees, on the back of a very large gray animal. My stomach began to do somersaults in my throat. I hate heights.

~Adora~ 

I frowned at the smirk the captain shot me as my friend's cry of horror pierced the air. He had a cruel sense of humor, I found. He called for a stop and handed his horse to a young man. He gestured with his hand and I found myself surrounded be several scary looking men. I rolled my eye and muttered in my native language, "As if I could make it face paces without getting seen. I'm the only girl in the camp on horse back. "

The men around me gave me strange look and I only granted them with my fiercest glare. Which would have sent my brothers running, but didn't seem to unnerve them in the least, which only deepened my frown. I tried to find where our dear caption had gone but his ugly face couldn't be frowned. I began to wonder what kind of place this was. I had several newly acquired bruises thanks to the less the hospitably keeping of my guards. My wrists were starting to swell from the ropes which bit into them every night. As it was my hands were tied to the rains of my horse. 

I had no idea why he had insisted on the separation of me and Thalia. She had healed quickly, they had only seen an small line where she had been bleeding and it had caused murmur to go up. I hadn't seen the significance of it. Thalia always healed fast from any wounds she might occur. I chanced a look at the big gray animal that followed us and shuddered. Big was an understatement and while I wasn't afraid of height being on top of that would have turned my stomach. Thalia could be reduced to tears at that height, if she hadn't already.

~Thalia~

She wasn't far off from that. I did cry a tear or two, but as it is crying was always something that linked me as a child and I refrained from doing it. I couldn't keep the quiver out of my chin or rid the water in my eyes. I would have stayed in the fetal position I was in at the middle of the pallet if it wasn't for the kick that rolled me over. 

I found myself looking up into the horrible scarred face of the captain and I held back my own angry comment. He looked less then pleased, and I hadn't said anything yet!

He barked something then seemed to remember what language I spoke.

" What is your relation to Calla Te'hani?" 

I stood up and winced at the sore spot where he had kicked me. The fabric of my dress slide around me like water and pulled at my feet, obviously they hadn't planed for a five foot guest. The rings around my wrists jingled as a moved.

" I don't know her." I lied, I didn't know how he knew my aunt but I wasn't about to claim relation.

Who knows what she's done. She's made enough people angry I didn't want to take the punishment for what she'd done to them.

He frowned and I saw him eyes drifted down. I refrained from shivering, the lustful look in his eyes did nothing to settle my nerves. I suddenly felt unprotected in the flimsy dress. I looked around, no weapons and I didn't feel any of my daggers on my person. He griped my arm and jerked me towards him. I cried out as pain flared up my arm from my already hurt wrist. His rough calloused hands pushed my sleeve down my arm only exposing my shoulder before my knee connected with his groin. He doubled over and made an odd squealing noise. I backed up and tripped over my dress. I cursed fluently in every language I had ever learned at my bad luck. He glared fiercely at me but limped away. Before he descended a ladder his eyes swept over me again lingering on my exposed side and a look of something close to triumph covered his feature and I held my breath until I felt myself moving again. I shivered and suddenly felt very much like a child. I pulled the sleeve back up and curled into a ball on a pile of pillows before allowing myself to cry.

~Adora~

I watched the captain limp back to his horse and had hide my grin behind a cough. I recognized the limp all to well. My brothers had seen it several times in their life time. 

So he saw Thalia, I thought with a smirk. Obviously she wasn't pleased. She doesn't' often try to render a man barren. He through a glare at me before sitting down on his horse. He spoke to his second.

"The mark is on her. He will be most pleased." He said.

"And what of the other?" the other asked.

" We'll keep until she becomes troublesome. She might be useful in convincing the child up there in behaving."

"Will they be put together?"

The captain looked back at me and I glared, "Not yet."

I glared at him for the rest of the day until we broke camp and I was tied to a post inside a camp. A boy of probably only nine years trotted in caring my dinner, no doubt the leftovers of everyone else. Two guards followed him and stood by the door arms crossed and swords loose in there scabbard. The boy loosed my bonds and allowed me to eat. Looking at the state of his cloths something told me he wouldn't be much of a hostage, and I hadn't the stomach to see him killed if they decided to kill me through him.

The boy stared at me while he retied my ropes, as if he was trying to say something with his eyes. I winced at the final tug of the rope and felt a cut begin to bleed a new. With one last look the boy left followed by the guards I knew would wait just outside. With a sigh I leaned back against the post. I closed my eyes to attempt to sleep. How were we ever going to escape this when we're both unable to escape our bounds?

~Thalia~

I glared at the man before me. I bruise had formed on my upper arm where the goon had gripped me several days ago. It seemed now he wanted me off the elephant. I would have gladly descended from the height I had found myself, if it wasn't the fact that the only thing keeping me from plummeting was at the mercy of this goon's goons. They I trusted less the a Centurion with a blade in one hand and a promise in another. As it was he wasn't giving me the chose, my hands where now tied behind me and his thick beefy hand was once again clutching my arm. Which hurt a lot since there was already a bruise there. I glared harder at him. He simply smiled, enjoying the pain he caused me obviously. 

He tossed me roughly into the lift. My head hit one of the polls. Stars of pain filled my vision and I groaned, I muttered several names in the four other languages I knew. He barked in laughter sending a thunderous pain in my head. I groaned and rubbed the back of my head. I didn't realize the lift had moved until he lifted me back to my feet and shoved me out. I must have taken to many steps because he reached forward and roughly pulled me back causing me to stumbled and fall back against him. I pushed away with a noise of disgust. 

He simply grunted in an ape-ish fashion and pulled me towards a tent. Camp had settled down for the night. Only a few soldiers remained by the center fire. Most could be heard snoring in their tents. I had a hard time staying on my feet. The rocks and twigs cut into my bare feet and fabric of my dress tangled in my legs. By the time we reached the tent I felt like one more good tug would pull my arm out of it's socket. 

Again he shoved me none to gentle into the tent. I tripped over the edge of my dress and I went sprawling. 

"Thalia?" I looked up.

Adora sat cross-legged her arms tied behind her back on a bed of furs. She didn't look to bad. I saw the healing form of a cut on her shoulder and a few bruises on her knees. She smiled,

"Oh Balezibubs hide Thalia, I'm glad to see you." She looked so relieve I would have laughed if it wasn't for the sudden kick in the side I received. I grunted and rolled away. 

"Sit up." He barked.

I glared at him. What was he expecting? My hands here behind my back, and my side now felt like a thousand daggers had sliced it. 

He gripped the back of my short cut hair and lifted me up onto my knees.. I bit my lip to stop from crying out. 

"Now." He said releasing my hair and walking over to a cloth laid out with our weapons. 

He pointed to the weapons, "Why can't I touch them?"

"They don't like you."

That didn't seem to be the right answer. I found myself sprawled on my back and my ears ringing from the blow I had received. It was only then I noticed the other man in the room. The one who had just hit me. I tasted my blood on my lips and groaned, it'd been quite a long time sense I'd received such abuse.

"I'll ask again. Why can't I touch these?" 

"She told you the truth. They don't like you." Adora said glaring furiously at the two men. 

"Thalia are you alright?" she asked.

I rolled over and sat up on my own. "yeah it's like being back with my mom during my women lessons."

She smiled at my humor.

"What do you mean it doesn't like me?" the man growled, "Are you saying it can think?"

Adora looked back at the man, "No, but it's knows it master. And you sir, are not the person who made it. That's Thalia's, and only Thalia can wield it. The same goes with the long sword and the arrows. They were both made by me, and therefore mine alone."

The man frowned, obviously not liking that answer either since I suddenly found myself on my back and a boot kicking my several times in the ribs then the stomach. I heard Adora shout and the man stopped. It was difficult to breath. Each intake or exhale cause pain. My head pounded to much to hear what was being said. After a while I was rolled over onto my back. I kept my eyes closed and concentrated on not crying out as shaky hands pushed away folds of my dress and pressed down on my sore sides. On a particularly sore spot I moaned and moister began to slide down my cheeks.

"Oh Thalia. I'm sorry. I thought if I was the one talking he'd hit me. I didn't realize they'd beat just on you." I felt her cheek press against mine and realized she was crying not me. 

I'd never seen Adora cry. I'd never heard her cry either. 

"Adora." I said softly, then hissed, "Your hurting me."

She laughed, it sounded rather forced. I opened my eyes and looked up at her. 

She smiled sadly, "They've left."

I managed a small nod, "Yeah, I thought so. There wasn't anymore yelling."

She laid my head back down and moved out of view.

"They cut your hands free?" I asked surprised.

"No." her voice said softly, "A little boy tied my ropes in a way that I was able to escape" 

Adora knelt back down beside me, in one hand she held a stone vase I recognized. 

"We have our stuff?"

She nodded, "All but the trading iron. They'll never be able to melt it. But by the time they realize that, I plan to be long gone."

I blinked, "You have a plan?"

She grinned, "Yep. Now how do you get this thing off?"

I sighed, "No idea. I wasn't awake when they put it on." 

"Can you sit up?"

I was breathing with out pain now, did I want to chance sitting up?

"Yeah I think so."

I sat up and hissed, "That hurt."

She frowned," I'm surprised Thalia. Are you sick?"

I looked up at her confused, "I don't think so. Why?"

She shook her head, "You just don't normally hurt easily," she pointed at my arm, "That looks to be three days old."

I blinked, "What are you talking about?"

"You mean you," she shook her head, "never mind, come on lets see if we can get you back into your own clothes and not this layered Haradrim stuff."

Gritting my teeth we were able to pull the dress off of me. I sat there in a blanket while she rummaged through my things for an extra set of clothes. Sitting there I rubbed some of the solve from the vase onto my bruises and soon to be bruises.

"Here." She said, handing me a shirt and pants. 

Gratefully I slid into the shirt and pants. I looked over at Adora and she was looking at me in surprise. I looked down at myself to make sure I put everything on right, "What?"

She shook her head, "Nothing, never mind."

I handed her the vase and she put it back in my bag. 

"So what's the plan?"

"I'm not sure. We'll just see when something interesting happens that we can slip away quietly without being seen." She yawned and stretched. "Well I guess we'd better get some rest." She curled up on one of the furs. I closed my mouth that had slipped open. Obviously she knew something that I didn't. I sight and laid down beside her.

"'Night," I mumbled.

"'Night," Adora responded, and I drifted off to sleep.

* * * * *

~Adora~

"Miss, wake up. Miss, wake up!" A child's voice said softly in my ear.

"Huh?" I said abruptly sitting up, startled out of sleep.

"Shhh! You need to be quiet!" The voice insisted.

I blinked surprised to see the same young boy, not more than six winters old, kneeling close by me. "Who are you?" I asked, not completely awake and unsure of him.

"Tell you later. Help me get her up." He said pointing at Thalia. "And get your things. I have a way for you to escape."

That got me moving. He'd help me once, hopefully I could trust him. I quickly crawled over to Adora and quietly spoke in her ear. "Adora, wake up. It's time to escape." 

She woke in an instant.

"Here," I said putting her pack into her hands.

"Thanks," she said, she shook away the last trace of sleep. 

She looked at me in surprise, "Who's the kid?"

I slipped on my backpack, "Our way out, at the moment."

She stood, "How do you know we can trust him?"

I looked at her, "Right now, we don't have much of a choice."

"Com'mon," the boy said with a small grin. "We need to move fast."

"We're ready." I said.

"OK, follow me and be quiet." And with that he slipped out of the front flap of the tent.

"I guess the guards must be out or something if he's leaving that way." Thalia commented.

I nodded my agreement and followed the boy out. The guards were lying on the ground, not moving.

"Over here!" The boy called out from a cluster of trees. We quietly made our way over there, where he pointed out the Mûmakil. "See that?"

"Neda?" Thalia asked.

The boy looked at Thalia in surprise, " How'd you know-?"

"She was my prison for the first few days. She's really nice. She's going to have a baby in the spring."

The boy looked at the Thalia in awe. He shook his head, "Well that'll just have to wait, our goal is to commandeer Neda." 

Thalia and I exchanged glances, commandeer was a pirate term. 

"What about the guards?" I asked.

"Don't worry, their drinks have been poisoned as well. It's slower so it'll muddle their thinking before they pass out."

"You haven't killed them have you?" Thalia asked.

"No, it's just a sleeping poison. They'll wake up tomorrow with head pains, but that's it." 

Thalia nodded, her conscious stated. Getting to the Mûmakil was easier then I expected, it was get onto the animal that was hard. I had to drag Thalia into basket that would take us to the top. She stood stock still griping one of the polls and stared strait ahead the whole way up. 

Once inside the litter Thalia relaxed. I turned to the boy and he explained how to command the Mûmakil. Faintly we began hearing the sound of alarm from the tents.

"I must go!." He said suddenly, fear clearly on his face.

"Wait." I grabbed his arm before he escaped, "Why did you help us?"

He looked under my arm at Thalia, "Because I know you will save my mother."

He jerked his arm from my gripe and began lowering the basket.

"Who are you?" I called down, keeping my voice low.

"My name is Joachim. " He called back before disappearing into the darkness. 

I turned back to Thalia. She was climbing back over the low wall that surrounded the litter. She sat down on one of the pillows then laid down.

I looked at her confused, "What-?"

A great roar cut me off and the litter began to tilt wildly from side to side. I lost my footing and went sprawling onto my back. Thalia looked as if she had expected this. She sat unruffled in the pile of pillows.

"Thalia—wh-what's going on?"

The sound of breaking trees suddenly reached my ears through the thundering booms outside.

"Neda's helping us. She's going to take us as far as a mountain village, seven days for her. She said she'd run as fast as she could. They'll probably pursue us, but because of how many there are they can't use the other Mûmakil like this." She paused, speaking held the danger of biting off your tongue. "She said she will run until a small oasis; there she will rest for the afternoon."

I could only nod. Thalia's ability was unnerving sometimes, but at the moment it was a welcome gift


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Thalia

True to her word Neda stopped at a large basin surrounded by a nice bit of trees giving shade and even hiding Neda from view.

I was awoken by Adora's impatient calls. Somehow in that jolting ride I had slipped off into sleep.

I stood and walked over to the edge. My stomach jumped. I was about five or six feet off the ground. Adora stood on the ground holding something that looked like a pile of logs and rope.

"Here I'm going to throw this to you. Fasten it between the two polls."

I was surprised that Adora actually threw it, which turned out to be a latter, to where I could ketch it. I guess it's all the practice with the bow and arrow.

'What time was it anyways?' I thought to myself.

I tied the ladder between the two poles of the basket and climbed down.

Adora was standing over a fire cooking something that looked like two rabbits and several fish.

She smiled as I raided an eyebrow.

"It's a little after noon. You slept a long time, and I went hunting to fill that time."

I excepted the excuse and looked back at Neda. She looked exhausted even in sleep. I felt guilty for asking her to help us, but by what we had discussed I did not want to be with the Haradrim much longer.

"We'll move at night. It's cooler and easier on Neda." Adora said. "Here take some fish, the rabbits are kind of thin."

I excepted the meal gladly—I was starving.

It took less time to get to the village of Círyon than we thought. The town was nestled into the side of a mountain. The bend of the river was about three yards away. The town was surrounded by four feet thick stone walls to keep out the flood waters.

Neda stopped on a hill in front of the town and informed Thalia this was as far as she would go. The sun was beginning to sink when we finally made it to the town. No guards patrolled the walls and the large wooden door was open. Without hesitation Thalia and I entered. No one seemed to notice us, and when we traded our goods for currency no one batted an eye. Círyon we found out an old trading town that had seen easier times, some of the buildings were in the process of being repaired.

After acquiring a room at an inn Adora decided she wanted to explore the town and I opted to stay in the room. The inn was much different from the ones we saw at home. They were much nicer, the beds were held above the ground with bedding made of feathers, instead of furs and blankets made out of a course material. On the wall hung a large looking glass, that Adora and I had only seen a few places in our travels. There was a small table and two chairs by the window that over looked the town square. I set our bags down on one of the chairs and did a check while Adora was gone.

Adora

Círyon was an interesting town. All the buildings were pushed close together and the merchants lined the streets. The streets weren't crowded, which for a trading town wasn't a good sign. After spending some time in the inn's common room I had learned the basics of the language. As I explored the town I picked up some things I knew we would need. The other thing is that they didn't trade by a bartering system, but rather small discs of silver, copper and gold.

I had taken a bag of the rest of the things we had planned on trading and found several merchants willing to buy them in exchange for the 'money'. As the day began to wan I found myself at a stable. Inside was housed and animal, they called an 'elk'. They were a little smaller then horses and much hairier, with horns that looked like branches coming out of there head, called "antlers". The man selling the elk said they were for travelers into the mountains. The elk had better footing and could jump from rock to rock. I bought two and arranged for Thalia and me to be able come and get them in the morning.

I picked up a few more travel necessities then headed back to the inn.

Thalia

We set out early the next day after getting a few things that Adora hadn't gotten. The elk were smooth rides, and I was surprised at how fast they traveled. By nightfall we had almost reached the top within a week. Days later we had reached the river that ran through the valley. It was the first night by the river that I felt a sudden pain in my in my stomach. I wasn't sure what it was, after a while the pain left leaving me lightheaded and a little confused. Adora asked me what was wrong, but I had no answer. As she sat down and started making our evening meal I suddenly need to finds something. A desperate feeling rose up inside me and I ran. I didn't know where I was going, but the closer I got the calmer I felt.

A lake emerged out form a bed of rocks and near the lake was a large form. As I moved closer I realized it was a wolf, unlike any I had ever seen. It was as large as a horse and about as wide as two. Then I saw the smaller form, about the size of a large dog I realized just looking at it that it was the baby of the larger one, and just I realized that I realized that the mother was dead. The baby looked up as I approached. It whined and cautiously stepped towards me, shoulders hunched and tails between it's legs.

I knelt slowly as it approached and held out my hand. It pressed its nose against my hand, whined, looked at me with large fearful yellow eyes then lunged barrying it's face in my chest. I gasped and fell back in surprise. It whimpered and I realized it was crying. I sat up and help the animal in my lap, making small comforting noises.

I heard footsteps crunch behind me and we both looked up and saw Adora with a look of wide eyed shock approach.

It whined and looked at me. I smiled, "A friend."

It seemed to understand and except for it lay it's muzzle on my shoulder and trembled in my arms. I felt tears spring to my eyes, never had I held an animal as terrified as this one.

Adora nelt behind me and whispered softly, "What's wrong?"

"It's afraid. It's mother's died and it's not sure if it can survive with out her. " I said.

Yongxi, the name whispered through my head.

"Yongxi." I said allowed, "Come with me Yongxi."

It turned it's yellow eyes on me and licked my face.

I smiled and it climbed out of my lap. It was quiet and suddenly I heard voices. Loud gruff voices. I had no idea what they were saying so I looked at Adora. She was listening intently, her face had paled and her body was tense.

The voices faded and Adora physically relaxed.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

She shook her head, "Later, common, we should get back to camp."


End file.
